-Jade-

Jade walked out of the house in her dress with Iria's and Samuel's help. They carried the train since she did not want it to get stuck in the door.

The trail was very long, but the dress was not made for a wedding in her father's gardens. It was made for a royal wedding and definitely fit its purpose. Jade almost felt bad that the tailors had created such an amazing dress and so few got to see it. Their craftsmanship was nothing less than incredible.

"Are you ready, dear?" Her father suddenly asked standing next to her.

Jade looked at the old man who had looked so remorseful a couple of months ago after she had screamed her lungs off at him for giving her away to some stranger.

How things change... Jade chuckled internally and gave her father a little wink.

"You were right." She admitted whilst nodding to his question. Her father needed no explanation about what she was talking about. He just looked a little bit grumpy for about half a second.

"I liked it better when you weren't so fond of him." He answered in a joking tone and a cheeky smile was hiding beneath his grumpy exterior. "But yes, I was right. I am always right."

Jade heard her mother scoff at her husband in the distance. She stood with Liz by the snow-covered arch that lead into the garden were William and the rest were waiting. Jade placed her hand on her father's arm and smiled at him.

"Well, I hope you approve of him..." She sighed as they walked towards the gardens. She had a hard time believing that deep down her father would not approve do William, he was after all the one who had decided to accept William's proposal, on her behalf.

Iria and Samuel ran ahead and into the gardens with happy chirping voices, announcing that Jade was on her way.

"Of course I do." Her father answered her, but in a very low tone so her mother would not hear him. "I am impressed by the boy actually. He managed to win you over, and he has not pulled all of his hair of from your stubbornness. He almost deserves you." Her father said and chuckled.

"I remember someone who told me that this young man," Jade nodded towards the gardens were William waited, "... was as damn close to being worthy of your daughter as any young man could get."

"Precisely, as close one can get." Her father stated. "No one fully deserves you, my sweet girl. Not even royality."

Jade laughed and raised an eyebrow at her sweet father and then rolled her eyes at him. It caused him to laugh shortly.

As Jade and her father came up to the arch, Jade's mother had tears in her eyes.

"What is wrong, mother?" Jade chuckled lightly. Her mother waved away Jade's question as more tears filled her already teary eyes, incapable of answering the question without starting to cry. Her father chuckled as well and gave his wife a warm look.

"It is very cold, dear. You will freeze to death." Liz sighed and brushed Jade's arms up and down. "Please let me get you a cloak."

She tried one last time to get Jade to change her mind about getting married in just her dress. Liz had tried her very best to get Jade to either wear something over the dress or have the wedding inside.

"I am not having this discussion with you again, Liz." Jade answered gently. "I want to get married in father's garden and it would not do the dress justice if I wore that ugly cloak over it."

Liz shook her head but with a smile on her lips.

"Fine." She answered and rolled her eyes playfully. "You truly are the only one for that boy, and the only one who can handle him. You are the only one who is as stubborn as he is... if not more."

Jade's parents laughed.

-William-

Jade's mother and Liz came walking together. The children had come running a little while earlier and told them him that Jade was on her way. William felt his heart stop as the last ones before Jade appeared. It meant that Jade and her father were going to enter shortly.

Why does it feel like time has stopped...? He moaned internally. His impatience had never been this intense. There was nothing more he wished for right now than to see her step into the garden.

William threw his father a look and it was reciprocated with a warm look.

"Patience, my son."

"It was never a virtue of mine..." William chuckled and looked down into the snow quickly.

"I know." A chuckle erupted from his father.

Then she came, with her hand on her father's arm. Like a white dream in the midst of the crisp white snow. He wanted to run up to her and carry her over to where he stood but her father would kill him if he tried to take his daughter away faster than he had already tried to do.

Jade had her hair out and the dress fit her like she was born to wear it. William was left nothing less than speechless of the sight of her. A wide smile spread over his lips as he studied her. She suddenly looked up from the snow and met his lips and those ample beautiful lips reciprocated his smile. It felt like his heart wasn't capable of containing any more love for her but somehow it was filled even more at the sight of her.

The icy blue eyes radiated happiness and he could not see a trace of the sorrow and worry she had expressed earlier. It brought joy and warmth to his cold body. The bright light from the snow almost made her eyes look like they sparkled. He quickly forgot about the troubles they still had to face after the union he had longed for during such an excruciatingly long time.

William's father discretely nudged him in his side.

"You have made a very fine choice my son." He said with his lowered voice as he studied Jade. "She truly is one of the most beautiful girls I have ever laid my old eyes upon."

William's heart came alive again as he awakened from the first look of Jade in her wedding dress. He sighed very pleased at the sound of his father's words.

"I know..." He sighed and straightened himself.

"And I have to admit, I love how she handles you and your temper."

William laughed quietly and felt himself fill with something that he only could believe was true happiness, and gratefulness. He too loved how Jade treated him; how she had picked him down from whatever pillar he had placed himself on before he met her. How she had opened his eyes to see that there were more to life than just cold castle walls and that just because he had a title she did not, she would not let him treat her as he pleased. Jade had awakened something in him which he did not even know existed.

"I was worried that you would not take a wife, ever... I can't believe the luck you have had with this wonderful soul, and that you found her." His father said and it sounded like he was astounded. William did not take his eyes of Jade but he agreed with his father with a silent humming sound.

Me neither. William thought to himself and felt his heart beat faster and harder as Jade and her father approached them. She was only a few steps away now and he had to force himself not to take a step forward to meet her halfway. He wanted to though, badly, very badly.

-Jade-

William looked so handsome in his dark grey outfit. The jacket fit him so perfectly over his broad shoulders and chest, and Jade could see the hint of his white shirt underneath it. It had been a while since she had seen him in such formal wear since he had bought himself regular clothes when he arrived at Thornstead. Somehow she liked him better in what he wore right now. It just suited him better. The dark hair was neatly combed but some strands moved gently in the soft freezing breeze. The dark blue eyes caught her attention the most; she had never seen them this intense... and happy.

"You are drooling." Her father teased her with a dark tone. Jade raised her eyebrow at her father, and she could see that he was just teasing her. He used to do this to take her mind of things that made her nervous or just had her very quiet.

"Then wipe it off." Jade answered him quickly with a smirk. Her father could not hold in the low chuckle her answer caused.

"I have not done that since you were five..." He chuckled.

-Unknown-

The girl was freezing. Her poorly made cloak did nothing for the cold winter day around her. Her toes and fingertips were numb. Her whole body shivered violently, and her teeth chattered as she pulled her shoulders up and searched for the filthy farm girl's home.

It had been fairly difficult following the King and the governess. They had taken precautions when they left the castle and had done it in the middle of the night.

The girl had barely gotten enough time to steal a horse and a cloak before they had been on their way. Luckily for her they had stopped in the morning to get some rest and food, which had given her the chance to do the same. After that she had kept her distance and made sure to be alert as soon as they had stopped or continued their journey. The king had kept a close watch after eventual threats and stalkers but she had managed to stay hidden. All the while it had been very difficult.

On the journey to this remote little village she had stolen a knife. Just to have something to protect herself with if any man or stranger thought that they could have their way with her. She was not going to be defiled by anyone, then she would be useless to the prince. Dirty. Then she would be just like that peasant.

After a few days of travel, they finally arrived at the village. What pained her terribly was that she could not go and see the prince right away. She suspected that she was going to be driven away from him and therefore she had withdrawn to find herself a place to sleep.

The night had been spent in a little hut which was made for a shepherd's sheep. The animals had not minded her at all, and she was thankful for the warmth their wool had provided her with during the coldest part of the night.

Now she was searching through the village for any signs of the king, prince or that horrible girl. Her mind was a cloud of violent things she wanted to do to the girl when she found her.

After I have dealt with her I will finally have him all to myself... She thought as her mood grew darker and darker with every passing second. I haven't seen him in forever and... ARH! I just want her to die! I will do it myself if I must! She growled internally and clenched her hand around the shaft of her stolen knife.

She had never killed anyone before, but the hate she held for this plague of a person erased all limits she thought she had. She would stop at nothing to get what was hers. The consequences of her planned wrongdoing she would gladly welcome with open arms, just as long as she could have William to herself. No hellfire would be too hot or searingly painful if she would die after being his.

This. This was what fueled her entire being.

. . .

She walked for an hour or two before she recognized the king's horse outside of the local inn. A man was tending to it. He looked very comfortably so she figured he was the owner of the inn.

"You there!" The girl called out and walked up to him. The man looked up and frowned when he saw her.

"Yes?" he asked her. "What do you want girl?"

"Where is this horse's owner?" She asked demandingly.

"Why do you want to know, and why?" he asked her in return. She narrowed her eyes impatiently.

"I am part of the King's court, so you will do wisely by telling me where his grace is so I can go about my day." She spat the words out.

This was the same lie she told every soldier or guard that ever bothered her in the castle. It usually worked once or twice, or until the guards checked with the king if she truly was. After that she was forced to stay away.

The man's eyes widened.

"I am sorry, miss." He breathed. "King Uldard is at the wedding." The man answered her and nodded towards the direction the king had went.

"The wedding?" The girl gasped in shock. "The wedding is today?" She raised her voice and felt her heart sink.

The man nodded affirmatively as she herself was shaking her head.

"No. No he would not marry that lowlife!" She cried out in frustration. The man instantly frowned in anger.

"Careful, miss. The girl is loved in these parts and just because-"

"Shut up!" The girl hissed and ran towards where the man had nodded. He called after her but she ran with the last strength she had. She would not accept that they went through with this insanity.

-Jade-

William's father had kept the ceremonial speech very short and Jade did not doubt for a second that it was requested by her new husband.

"Do I really have to tell you two to seal it with a kiss?" The King asked impatiently when they both looked at him after they had promised themselves to each other. He seemed to want this to be over as soon as possible and Jade felt the same way.

William, however, had given his father a cautioning look when he had wandered off from whatever manuscript they had discussed. She chuckled and locked eyes with William. He had already been looking at her when she had turned to him.

"I hereby pronounce you; husband and wife. Now little ones. Seal it as you see fit." He said with a smile across his lips.

"Thank you, father." William muttered, fairly unimpressed by his father's light joke. He threw him a glance before he drew Jade close.

She almost shivered as he took her hands. The dark blue eyes glowed as they looked into hers.

"I love you, Jade." He whispered as his lips grazed hers. Jade inhaled shivering and nudged his upper lip with hers.

"I love you too." She whispered back as he finally initiated their first kiss as husband and wife.

"I'm so glad you changed your mind." He whispered after their kiss, right before he stole another one. This one was more intense and Jade could feel just how much he meant every word he had said.

"About what?" She asked and stroked his cheek.

"Me." William sighed. Jade looked down shyly and felt his index finger lift her face again. "Never look down again, Jade. I won't have it." His voice was dark but so full of love that Jade blushed.

She could not believe how proud he was, over her of all things. It would always confuse her why and how he had chosen her, even though he had explained it to her countless of times.

"You married a farmer's daughter, what did you-"

William silenced her with another kiss and Jade could hear sniffles coming from her mother and the king applauded, his claps were shortly accompanied by her siblings' and father's as well.

A dark but very low sound came from William as he tasted her lips carefully. The strong hands let go of hers and ran up to her sides to press her closer against himself.

"Who is that girl?" Iria asked suddenly asked.

Jade and William's kiss died instantly. What followed shortly after was a scream that made the blood in Jade's veins freeze.

When she opened her eyes, William was already looking towards where she had entered earlier.

In the arch stood the servant girl, with an intense look in her eyes which caused Jade to gasp quietly. The girl's whole body radiated that she had not expected the scene before her in this very moment.

The girl's hair was a mess and it looked like she had slept outside from the look on her cloak. It was muddy and full of dry stains. In the girl's right hand, a knife glistened in the sharp daylight. Jade swallowed quickly.

"It's her." She whispered to William. Without even looking at him she saw how he nodded slowly as his hands' grip tightened around her torso.

"You need to leave." He growled to Jade. "Now."

Jade inhaled and would gladly do as William said. Until she noticed how close Iria and Samuel stood to the girl. A stabbing feeling struck her gut.

"Oh my God!" Jade gasped and readied herself to run for the little ones. "Iria! Samuel!"

As if William knew what she had been thinking he stopped her attempt in throwing herself towards them by taking her wrists quickly in his hands.

"Keep calm, Jade." He told her quietly and very sternly. "We do not know how she will react or what she will do if you-"

"They are too close!" Jade whimpered. "I told you that this would happen! I told you she had followed the others here!"

William admitted his mistake without words by lowering his gaze momentarily.

"NO! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS?" The girl screamed while looking at William. She then looked at Jade and hate dripped from her eyes. "AND WITH THAT FILTH?"

Jade's parents gasped in offense.

"Loren!" Jade gasped out loud and caught his attention. He had already drawn his sword and then noticed what Jade was so scared of. "Iria! Samuel!" Jade screamed as the girl took her first step into the gardens.

"Who is-" Jade's mother became quiet and screamed as well when she noticed the knife in the girl's hand. The girl who was walking towards them all, and most of all; her young children. Pete sat safely guarded on her hip, but he started crying when their mother's cries unsettled his happy little face.

"Let go, William!" Jade cried as he held her formly. It did not even seem as a struggle for him to hold her as she jerked her arms.

"No!" He breathed. "Stand still Jade." He said with a hard voice and clenched his hands around her wrists even tighter. Jade whimpered from the pain. "LOREN!" He yelled with a dark voice. The guard immediately acted and went for Jade's siblings.

"Let me go, you are hurting me!" Jade sniffled with her eyes on the girl who kept walking towards her siblings.

"I am sorry, Jade. Just do as I say." William breathed and she could hear that he meant it. She turned her eyes towards him and could see how it pained him that he was hurting her.

Before Jade knew it, Loren had managed to yank her siblings out of the girl's path, but she had not even looked their way.

All those green venomous eyes focused on was Jade. The grip on the knife was changed into a firmer one and with it, William's grip around Jade's wrists loosened and he placed her behind him.

"Give me the girl." The king ordered William as he drew his sword. "The rest of you leave!" He called out to Jade's family.

-William-

He could not believe this was happening! How did she find them? His heart broke as Jade's tears streamed down her face when her worst fears had indeed come true. Had he been too naive? Yes. He had been too blind and trusted his father without any doubt in his mind.

"I thought you said you were sure she did not follow you here?" William growled at his father whom placed himself next to William.

"I did. I was sure of it." His father said with a grave tone to his voice, and the old man's eyes were fixed on the threat which was approaching them. "Loren! Take Jade's family out of here and get them somewhere safe! I will not say it again!" He roared.

"Yes, my king!" Loren called out without any objections. He rallied everyone and William watched as he herded everyone out of the gardens. Loren placed himself behind the girl, in the arch, as if he was prepared for if the girl would attempt to escape.

"It was never supposed to be her!" The girl suddenly gasped and she sounded so furious that Jade shivered behind him. William drew his own sword and lifted it. Jade stood still behind him as the tip of the sword was pointed towards the girl. She did not stop walking. She kept going.

"How-"

"Leave." William ordered her with his darkest voice, and it made Jade flinch violently.

"No." The girl answered him coldly.

"I will kill you." William warned her. He had every intention to kill her either way, but he needed to get Jade to safety first.

"You might as well." The girl threatened him. "Because I-"

"I warn you!" William roared. "Take one step closer, and it will be your last!"

"I do not care, William." The girl said his name like she had said it a thousand times and as if she knew him. It made his blood turn cold. "All I want is you."

William had had a difficult time believing Liz when she had told him that the reason Jade had left the castle was because of a servant. Not that she could not pose a threat, but because she was obsessed with him and had been for years. He had never given any girl a moment of his time or a hint of affection.

"Did you...?" His father wondered without asking the full question if William had done something to make the girl believe that she could speak to him so informally. The uncertainty in his father's tone also suggested that he asked if William had been with the girl.

"I have never seen her before." William answered his father but made sure that the girl would hear him. She did. The eyes that were a vibrant color of green turned black as night from his words.

"You are a liar!" She hissed. "You know we are meant to be together! I have seen the way you look at me!"

William swallowed and made sure that his sword was at the level of her throat, but she did not slow down.

"The girl is clearly insane." William's father stated quietly and swung his sword to the right, feeling its weight as preparations for what was about to come.

"Father. Get Jade to safety." William said quietly and lowered his sword and made sure that Jade moved away from behind him and to his father. The blue eyes were filled with fear. He caressed her cheek in a haste.

"Please, William..." She whispered. "Kill her." He promised her with a look that he would do just that.

"Stop hexing him!" The girl spat. She had clearly heard what Jade had said. "He was never meant for you." She continued and her tone was one of pure fury.

Then it all happened so fast; The girl went to attack with her knife in the air. William's father pushed Jade hard behind them and she fell. The sound of her body landing in the crunchy snow reached William as he had his eyes fixed on the lunatic coming at him.

He raised his sword just in time and was surprised when the girl practically ran right into his sword. The penetration of his sword and the pain it must have generated did not reach the girl's black gaze. They were locked onto him.

"You made the wrong choice." She breathed heavily. "You-"She gurgled momentarily and blood came out of her mouth as she spoke. It appeared that first now did she notice that William had pierced her with his sword. She looked down at the wound in her stomach and lightly touched it with her free hand. She revealed a bloody palm and it dripped with her dark red blood.

"I cannot believe you did this." She gasped and more blood came out of her mouth.

"You are delusional and out of your God damned mind if you ever thought I would have anything to do with you." He said quietly. "I do not know how you-" He stopped talking as the girl took at step closer towards him. "What-"

"If I cannot have you..." The girl hissed. William looked at her in shock as she pushed herself closer to him, forcing his sword deeper into her. "... then neither can anyone else." She continued and grimaced from what he could only guess was the pain caused by his sword.

William turned stiff by what she was doing. His father did as well. No one of them were capable of moving. They were taken by surprise by the girl's action.

"William!" The scream came from Jade and it was the most terribly scream he had ever heard. It was worse than the cries he had heard in the burnt down village when the survivors had come back to care for their dead loved ones. Jade's scream was something that caused his world to stop and he turned his gaze to her.

Then he felt it. A stabbing feeling in his left side. Right beneath his ribs.

"...and especially her." The servant spat out the last words and William flinched when he noticed that she was standing so close to him that he let go of his sword. It stayed in the air, secured inside the girl's gut.

"WILLIAM!" Jade screamed once more.

William looked down when he felt something warm spread from where he had felt the stabbing feeling.

The girl's knife was buried in him and he looked at her with darkness in his eyes. His blood poured out of him and stained the snow beneath him, it mixed with the girl's which had made a large pool at her feet.

"We will be together as soon as we leave this place." The girl sighed serenely.

In the next moment she was gone, leaving a noise of surprise and a grunt. William fell to his knees. Everything around him became haze but he did not feel scared or worried. Jade was behind him, safe and sound.

"My God!" He heard his father gasp. William turned his head to the right and noticed that his father's sword was missing and so was the girl. "William!"

William frowned and looked ahead of him.

In the snow, a couple of steps ahead he saw a white dress covered in blood. The fear and worry he had just been free of filled him.

Jade was sitting in top of the girl; William's sword was laying in the snow next to her.

Jade was holding his father's sword in her hands, and she screamed as she buried it in the girl's throat. The sound of the girl's throat being pierced and chrushed echoed in the quiet gardens.

-------------------------

I will not say that I hoped you liked this chapter, since what happened, but I do hope you... well... kind of likes it, lol.

Let's see what happens to Jade and William in the next chapter!

Love Jenny